News from the Library of Congress

January 29, 1999

The latest edition of a major cataloging reference work has been
added to Cataloger's Desktop, the popular Library of Congress
electronic product, announced Peter R. Young, chief of the Library
of Congress Cataloging Distribution Service (CDS), the division
that markets and distributes the Library's technical products.

The reference work recently added to Cataloger's Desktop is the
electronic version of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd
edition, 1998 revision (AACR2-e). This publication, the most
important descriptive cataloging tool used in English-speaking
nations, is co-published by the Canadian Library Association, the
Library Association, and the American Library Association (ALA). AACR2 is regularly referenced by catalogers who are also using
Library of Congress cataloging tools. Now more than 30 of the
most-used LC publications are available electronically with AACR2 on one CD-ROM.

This enhanced version of Cataloger's Desktop owes much to a
multiyear effort by ALA Editions and CDS, according to Mr. Young,
who also cited contributions by LC's Cataloging Policy and Support
Office and the Network Development and MARC Standards Office.

Available by annual subscription, Cataloger's Desktop is issued in
quarterly cumulative updates from CDS. "Inclusion of AACR2-e was
made possible through a licensing agreement between the Library of
Congress and the co-publishers of AACR2-e" Mr. Young said.
"Single and multiuser versions of AACR2-e as well as the print
version of AACR2 are available from ALA Editions," Mr. Young
noted.

"Making AACR2-e available is a major breakthrough," according to
Barbara B. Tillett, LC's representative on the Joint Steering
Committee for the Revision of AACR. "LC is taking this
breakthrough a step further in Cataloger's Desktop," she said. "LC
has engineered the AACR2-e file for on-line retrieval and linked
it extensively to the LC Rule Interpretations (LCRIs), MARC
formats, and other specialized cataloging tools that may now be
accessed with the click of a button.

Cataloger's Desktop subscribers can limit their AACR2-e searches
by rule number or title, rule text, or examples. Links to
cataloging resources on the World Wide Web are also just a click
away," Ms. Tillett said.

In addition to producing the enhanced product, the Library's
Cataloging Distribution Service also reduced the price of Cataloger's Desktop by nearly $200 for single users -- while only
slightly raising the fee for multiple concurrent users. (A
multiple concurrent user is one who accesses the product on a
Local Area Network [LAN] while others are using it.) Additional
concurrent users gain access to the product through codes that are
assigned to the single user customers. Assigning codes is
necessary, according to Mr. Young, to keep track of royalties due
from the Library of Congress to the publishers of AACR2. New
subscription prices for Cataloger's Desktop are $690 in North
America and $700 outside North America, with a fee of $45 for each
additional concurrent user.

"To have the entire suite of cataloging tools needed to maintain
professional standards," Mr. Young said, "a cataloger can combine Cataloger's Desktop with our other CD-ROM subscription product Classification Plus. The cost is low -- especially for the smaller
libraries that have fewer additional users," he said. Classification Plus costs $520 in North America and $530 outside
North America, with an additional concurrent user fee of $25.

Both product subscriptions consist of four cumulative issues
published quarterly. Classification Plus contains all the newly
revised Library of Congress classification schedules, plus the
five-volume "big red book," Library of Congress Subject Headings
(LCSH). Researchers and reference librarians rely on LCSH to help
cut research time by finding the standard subject heading used for
searching specific materials. "Some avid Internet users are
beginning to consult Library of Congress Subject Headings as a
quick way to access critical information that might otherwise be
contained in a maze of irrelevant citations," he said.

A special combination discount rate is available for purchase of
both products. Cataloger's Desktop and Classification Plus in
combination cost just $1,110 in North America and $1,130 outside
North America. Each additional concurrent user fee is $70 ($45 Cataloger's Desktop; $25 Classification Plus).

Subscriptions may be ordered from the Library of Congress
Cataloging Distribution Service, Customer Support Team, 101
Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, DC 20541-4912 or by calling
(800) 255-3666 or (202) 707-6100. The Web address is http://www.loc.gov/cds/ and
E-mail is cdsinfo@loc.gov.

The print version of AACR2 1998 revision as well as single and
multiuser stand-alone electronic versions are available directly
from ALA Editions. Additional information is available at http://www.alaeditions.org/ (external link) or
(800) 545-2433, press 7 to order.